Australia's Got a New American Indie Film Festival

Australian cinephiles, meet the cure to your yearly bout of Sundance and SXSW envy. Palace Cinemas has announced a brand new film festival dedicated to the American indie scene — i.e. the closest you can get to heading to Park City, Utah or Austin, Texas without actually heading overseas.

Debuting in May 2016, and running two-week-long seasons in Palace's Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra venues, Essential Independents: American Cinema, Now will showcase the past, present and future of US independent filmmaking. In a dedicated screen event, audiences will be treated to a snapshot of current creative directions in America, as well as an exploration of their impact throughout international cinema.

Accordingly, expect new features, documentaries and shorts, retrospectives on important figures from both behind and in front of the camera, talks and masterclasses, and a few special guests, too. Basically, in a program overseen by former Australian Centre for the Moving Image Head of Film Programs and current Revelation Perth International Film Festival director Richard Sowada, expect American indie heaven in Australian movie theatres.

Considering the wealth of talent that has emerged from the US indie realm — think Inherent Vice's Paul Thomas Anderson, Boyhood's Richard Linklater, Mistress America's Noah Baumbach, Selma's Ava DuVernay, Night Moves' Kelly Reichardt and Sleeping With Other People's Leslye Headland, just to name a few — there are plenty of reasons to be excited about an annual trip through the kinds of flicks that don't always make it to local screens outside of Sydney and Melbourne's major film fests. Indeed, while there seems to be an Australian festival dedicated to every other culture, style and theme, until now non-Hollywood US productions have proven an overlooked niche.

Essential Independents: American Cinema, Now will tour Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra in May 2016. For more information, keep an eye on the Palace Cinemas website.